Since 1996 the work of just one F1 enthusiast, Formula One Art & Genius is a tribute to the passion, heroism, glory and tragedy that for seven decades have made Grand Prix motor racing the world's greatest stage for drivers, their machines and the people who admire both.

In 1961 California’s Phil Hill became the first American to capture the Formula One World Championship, diving his iconic Ferrari 156 “shark nose” machine.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Hill made his F1 debut at the French Grand Prix at Reims in 1958 driving a Maserati. A crash during the 1961 Italian Grand Prix killed Hill’s teammate Wolfgang von Trips and 14 spectators, making his championship-clinching win very much bittersweet. Ferrari’s decision not to travel to the United States for that season’s final round deprived Hill of the opportunity to participate in his home race at Watkins Glen as the newly-crowned World Champion. When he returned for the following F1 season, his last with Ferrari, Hill said, “I no longer have as much need to race, to win. I don’t have as much hunger anymore. I am no longer willing to risk killing myself.”